Use Digg to share your favorite facebook group/charity!

I’ve been a huge fan of Facebook for years and got sucked into the Digg revolution back in July, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I had an epiphany. They’re both incredible tools and both are used to discuss each-other all of the time, but no one has bothered to use the two together.

A lot of attention has recently been focused on the power of Facebook as a tool for grass roots efforts [political/charity] and events coordination. Reporters, politicians and business professionals have flocked to the site while news stations have formed major business relationships with Facebook [US Politics w/ ABC News etc.].

So, in the mad rush what got overlooked? Probably a number of things, but one is the use of Digg as a way to share/spread/inform the general public about Facebook-based movements. The benefit is three fold:

It allows users to share their favorite group or charity with people outside of their immediate social network which is often limited to school, work or regional associates.

It allows Facebook outsiders a glimpse at the Facebook movements currently out there and an opportunity to join if they are interested.

It creates a link from Digg where micro-communities can share more specialized information and discuss the issue in-depth while enabling users.

There is a catch, however. Because Facebook is an account based service users must have a Facebook account and need to be logged in to view the group or event. While 6 months ago that might have been a deal killer it’s no different than old news articles and some blog postings. That is an issue that led to some reservations on my end when debating this post. However, with proper notification I think the benefits far outweigh the slight inconvenience.

So – how to do it?

The process is really not very different than your normal Digg submission, however, there are several small details that need to be noted.

You will need a Digg account as well as a Facebook account to submit content.

Navigate to the group or charity you want to share [Note: The group/event should be open/global].

The URL should look something like: http://asu.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6856404403 and this is where things get a little more complex. When logged in, Facebook automatically re-directs you through your primary network’s sub-domain. In my case it’s ASU. Since you’ll be sharing the item with everyone you will want to provide an accurate URL. To do this, just remove the sub-domain. The new URL should look like this [Note: group.php will be events.php if you are submitting an event]: http://facebook.com/group.php?gid=6856404403

Because you’re linking to a password protected item, make sure that you inform people in the description that they will need a Facebook account to access it. Also make sure your title and the rest of the description is detailed and as informative as possible.

Choose the correct category for the Digg post and add it.

Note: If a user is already logged into Facebook the page will open normally without a password/login prompt.

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Alex Berger

In 2007 I set out on a three month solo trip through Europe, in 2011 I re-located to Copenhagen. I've been authoring VirtualWayfarer ever since with a focus on sharing stories, musings, and advice through a visually and narrative rich format.